The National Park Service (NPS) has restored references to Harriet Tubman to its Underground Railroad webpage after facing criticism for attempting to rewrite history.
“Changes to the Underground Railroad page on the National Park Service’s website were made without approval from NPS leadership nor Department leadership. The webpage was immediately restored to its original content,” a spokesperson for NPS said.
Last week, the Washington Post reported that NPS’ Underground Railroad webpage was changed to remove a large photo of Tubman, the railroad’s most famous conductor, and a quote about her work leading slaves though the secret network to freedom.
Tubman’s image and quote were replaced with commemorative stamps of those who escaped or helped others to escape slavery, which all highlighted the phrase “Black/White Cooperation.”
Fergus Bordewich, a historian and the author of a book about the Underground Railroad, told CNN that the removal of Tubman is “offensive and absurd.”
The webpage’s first two paragraphs were also changed to say the Underground Railroad “bridged the divides of race.” Phrases such as “enslaved African Americans” were changed to “enslaved workers.” References to slavery and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 were also completely removed from the first two paragraphs.
A spokesperson for NPS had initially defended the move which comes amid the Trump administration’s push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from federal institutions.
“We have dozens of pages about Harriet Tubman celebrating and memorializing her impressive role in American history,” the spokesperson said. “The idea that a couple web edits somehow invalidate the National Park Service’s commitment to telling complex and challenging historical narratives is completely false and belies the extensive websites, social media posts, and programs we offer about Harriet Tubman specifically and Black History as a whole.”
Last month, the Pentagon took down a page about Jackie Robinson, the first Black Major League Baseball athlete in the modern era. They later restored it after backlash.
